A Rare and Curious Gift

by Pauline Holdstock

Book Overview

Loosely based on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, A Rare and Curious Gift tells the story of Sofonisba, a brilliant painter gradually taking over her father's studio. Determined to avoid the depredations of men, she is fighting her own intensely erotic attraction to Matteo Tassi; sculptor, goldsmith, notorious and irresistible rogue. Then a young female slave, her skin strangely mottled by nature, enters their lives and those of their friends. The...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393327477
• ISBN13: 9780393327472
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.0" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

"The perfect imperfection"

Sixteenth century Tuscany is aglow with artistic opportunity, painters, sculptors, artisans all enjoying and unprecedented flourishing of the arts. Even women are encouraged in the art of painting, though there are few with the courage to follow such a muse, one of the most notable Artemisia Gentileschi, who paints at a later date than this novel. The female artist of note in this era is Sofonisba Fabroni, a young woman trained by her father, although her talents actually surpass those of her teacher. Of independent mind, Sofonisba is absorbed by her work, floating on the wings of natural talent, intuiting the very nature of color, shape, form and emotion. With her father and a few other artists, Sofonisba attends clandestine anatomy classes at the home of Paolo Pallavicino, the resident artist of a local patron. In the dark of night, these artists sketch the wonders of the human anatomy as Paolo dissects cadavers by lantern light. Such things are forbidden, but the urge to discover the connections of body to spirit dominate the times, a furious quest to uncover the causality of life itself. This is not a good time for women, artists being the exception in a society that favors male domination in all its affairs. Unexpectedly, Sofonisba is the beneficiary of a gift, a piebald young slave girl, Chiara, whose skin is mottled with patterns of black and white, an object of curiosity and fear. In such superstitious times, the slave girl is looked upon with disfavor, the Devil's charge. After a tragic fire on the first day of an annual saint's festival, fingers begin to point at the slave, an omen of bad luck visited upon the town: "The wings of devils shall carry you to Hell. And the woman shall go first." The confusion of the religious festival sets in motion a subdued violence, as the villagers perceive the need to set things right with God. This is the age of the Inquisition, a time of hangings and torture in the name of God, His majesty over the natural world. Sofonisba and Chiara are thrown into the maelstrom by circumstances beyond their control; at the heart of all is the lecherous Matteo Tassi, unable to govern his concupiscent acts or headstrong emotions. Like the fated Artemisia, Sofonisba will suffer for living freely in a man's world, despite the talent that is both her gift and cross to bear. The tapestry of characters is as rich as the story: Paolo Pallavicino, the old man who conducts secret dismemberments; Tassi, the master of depravity, who creates inimitable curiosities, but is driven to satisfy the needs of the flesh; Alessandro, hopelessly in love with Sofonisba, but never a candidate for her affections, reduced to walking about in garments made of human skin; Orazio, an artist whose ageing body is courting death, at odds with his own desires for his talented daughter; Sofonisba, the artist who lives for her work, but is taunted by Tassi's invitation to the joys of human connection; and Chiara, the piebald slave, doomed by her

A Rare and Beautiful Read

I don't read much historical fiction and am not an Italophile, but I quickly became immersed in the daily life and intrigues of Holdstock's 16th century Florence. The striking details and poetry of her prose were unexpected strengths and delights -- so unlike the worn phrases and lazy writing found in otherwise entertaining historical novels, such as Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Erring. While I will not divulge the appalling object Holdstock explicitly labels a "rare and curious gift" and which precipitates the central drama, the phrase applies equally to Chiara, the curiously mottled ("piebald") slave girl, purchased at auction and passed like a bad penny among the book's main characters who fear she is sfortunata, ill-fated, and brings misfortune to those around her. Chiara is the most sympathetic and physically vivid character amid a rich and varied cast of artists, merchants, servants, and minor nobility whose lusts and ambitions propel the action. My only criticism is that it seemed a bit hurried toward the end, but after breathlessly turning 355 pages, perhaps a quick ending was best.